Li Hongye led Gu Chang'an out of the side hall.
The sky grew late, dusk falling like gauze, yet the entire County Office remained brightly lit with runners coming and going in a constant stream, their steps hurried.
"Let's go, we'll head to the Household Registration Room to register first, then go to the Armory to collect your equipment."
Li Hongye spoke as she strode forward, possessing quite the capable aura of a female chief constable.
Gu Chang'an followed closely behind, walking through a long corridor, turning into a side courtyard, and arriving before a small room bearing a plaque that read "Document Room."
The light inside was bright, and an old clerk with frosted hair and beard sat behind a desk, flipping through a stack of ledgers.
"Old Zhou, register this new constable for me," Li Hongye said with a cup-and-slate salute and a smile.
The old clerk looked up, his eyebrows twitching. "Recruiting people again? He looks quite young."
His gaze swept over Gu Chang'an, then glanced at the bundle behind him, and he nodded. "What's your name? Age? Native place? Martial lineage?"
Gu Chang'an cupped his fists and answered one by one: "Gu Chang'an, sixteen years old, native of Guangyuan Town, learned martial arts from the Sky Wind Martial Hall, studying under Li Tianfeng."
Old Zhou the clerk jotted it down with a rustle of his brush, then asked, "Are you ranked?"
"A Ninth Rank Martial Artist," Gu Chang'an replied.
Hearing this, Old Zhou the clerk showed a hint of surprise and nodded. "Not bad. A Ninth Rank Martial Artist at sixteen; he can be considered good stock."
After finishing writing, he fished out a newly made bronze medallion engraved with "Crime Solver ID Ding 314" and handed it to Gu Chang'an.
"This is your constable ID. From now on, transfer orders, records, and battle merits will all be based on this. Don't lose it."
Gu Chang'an took the bronze medallion. His fingertips felt cool against the heavy piece, but it represented a promotion in his status and class.
Meanwhile, on the system panel, his information panel had changed.
[Name: Gu Chang'an] [Lifespan: 54 years and 4 months] [Identity: Martial Artist (Minor Official)] [Realm: Ninth Rank] [Physique: 148 (+4/day)] [Techniques: Iron Cutting Saber Technique (Yellow Grade Low Rank, Initial Mastery/+), Complete Iron Cloth Shirt (Yellow Grade High Rank, Initial Mastery/+), Wandering Wind Step (Yellow Grade Low Rank, Initial Mastery/+), Mountain Shattering Fist (Yellow Grade Low Rank, Initial Practice/+), Archery (Mortal Grade, Initial Mastery/+)]
Not bad, a minor official status increasing his physique by 4 points every day.
This felt amazing.
Following that, Li Hongye led Gu Chang'an toward the armory.
The armory was set inside a stone house guarded by two strapping constables. After Li Hongye presented her waist medallion, she led Gu Chang'an inside.
Racks stood densely within the room, neatly arrayed with iron armor, sabers, spears, crossbows, leather boots, and various other equipment. On the walls hung standard constable-issue black-iron dark robes and inner armor.
"Newcomer?" One of the guarding constables stepped forward and asked.
"Mn," Li Hongye nodded. "Issue him a set of standard armor, a set of black clothes, plus a belt, arm guards, and leg guards. I'll pick the weapon."
"You got it." The armory guard was nimble, quickly retrieving the equipment and stacking it neatly on a nearby table.
After inspecting it and finding no issues, Gu Chang'an wrapped it up into a bundle.
Li Hongye looked at Gu Chang'an and asked, "What weapon are you best with?"
Without hesitation, Gu Chang'an answered, "Long saber."
Hearing this, Li Hongye nodded, walked over to the weapon rack, and selected a standard long saber. The blade was pitch-black with a silvery-bright edge, feeling solid and steady in the hand.
She drew the blade, a cold flash accompanying a light ring.
"This is a Standard Ring-Pommel Long Saber, forged from a mix of cold iron. It's not top-tier, but its flexibility, cutting power, and weight are all suitable for a beginner."
She handed it to Gu Chang'an. "Use this for now. Once you have battle merits or bandit-capture achievements, you can request a replacement saber or even have one custom-forged."
Gu Chang'an took it with both hands. A heavy saber in hand caused his qi and blood to slightly vibrate, stirring a faint excitement in his heart.
He nodded and cupped his fists, "Thank you, Senior Sister."
Li Hongye nodded with satisfaction. "You've only recently entered the ranks. Even with a foundation, establishing yourself in the Fugitive Apprehension Group requires training through real blades and genuine combat.
"Early tomorrow morning, gather at the martial hall. I'll introduce you to the members of our Crime Solver Team Ding then, and teach you some case-file processing procedures and bandit-capture rules."
Gu Chang'an cupped his fists, "Understood, Senior Sister."
"Alright, go back and rest early. Starting tomorrow, you won't have it this leisurely."
Li Hongye smiled and patted his shoulder.
Gu Chang'an agreed with a nod, and the two parted ways.
Carrying his bundle and saber, he walked through the lamp-lit corridor and out the gates of the County Office.
Behind him were the patrolling footsteps of constables, and in his ears lingered the endless sound of cicadas in the distance.
The evening sky had already been swallowed by dusk, and the tenement alleys of Nanning County's South City were steeped in heavy shadows, with only scattered lights from doorsteps propping up a faint glow.
Gu Chang'an carried his bundle on his back, returning home along the familiar path through the quiet.
Now, his mood was elated, but as the scene ahead came into view, his smile instantly froze.
A crowd surrounded the front of his house.
There were easily more than a dozen people, scattered around the mouth of the dilapidated alley and the perimeter of the doorway. Everyone wore crude attire, some holding sabers, others leaning against walls...
Pair after pair of eyes stared at him coldly, like a pack of wolves eyeing a lone prey.
The leader was a middle-aged man with a tall, thin build, slightly sunken cheeks, and a pair of triangular eyes as sinister as driven nails. He wore a brown robe, the lapels embroidered with the character "Fire" in black thread for the Fire Gang.
In his hand, he held an ebony iron rod, tapping it against the bluestone pavement with a clacking sound.
Standing beside him was a heavily built brawny man whose face resembled an iron tower. His head was wrapped in a white cloth, his forearms bound with leather cord bracers, and he gripped a large ox-spine broad-backed saber that faintly exuded a bloody aura.
Aside from them, there were over a dozen gang members, some holding iron rods, others carrying firewood sabers.
These people were currently laughing and talking; some squatted by the threshold whittling wood while others smoked dry tobacco. Within the swirling smoke, the air was pressed down until it was almost suffocating.
A neighbor peered out stealthily from a window crack, frowning as they offered a low warning:
"Little Gu, don't force it... They've been here since the afternoon, guarding your doorway the whole time without saying a word, as if they were waiting for you."
Gu Chang'an's steps halted.
His gaze narrowed, memories from a month ago rapidly unrolling in his mind.
--It seemed Zhang Gang's matter had come to light.
At the time, a fiend just happened to pass by and devoured the corpse.
He thought the matter had ended there, but unexpectedly—
"It looks like the fiend didn't devour him completely," Gu Chang'an's heart sank.
He immediately looked at the leading man—Liang Biao, an incense master of the Fire Gang and Zhang Qiang's own cousin.
In the past, he had seen this person while selling firewood.
Seeing him appear, Liang Biao squinted and smiled, his voice hoarse and deep:
"Isn't this Gu Chang'an? Back?"
Gu Chang'an slowed his pace, walking up to five steps away from the door before stopping.
His expression was calm, but his voice was like ice cracking against stone:
"You all are guarding my front door—what do you want?"
Liang Biao's smile didn't change as he spoke slowly:
"Our brother Zhang Qiang suddenly went missing a month ago. After investigating for many days, we finally found his remains.
"Yet strangely, his death doesn't look like he was bitten to death by a fiend."
"His bones are covered in knife wounds—clean and ruthless, not like an amateur, but rather... like someone from the jianghu."
"The most crucial point—he died beside that wasteland behind your house."
Gu Chang'an did not reply.
He simply unbuckled the bundle on his shoulder and gently set it down by his feet.
Liang Biao continued, "You were the last person to see him before the incident."
"Normally, you're just a drifter with nothing much to investigate. But I heard... lately, you've suddenly become spirited, your back straightened, and you walk with energy."
"Doesn't this suggest—that you've actually practiced martial arts all along?"
Gu Chang'an raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze like frost, his tone frighteningly calm:
"Are you here to interrogate me?"
Liang Biao smiled. "Heh... Not an interrogation, just asking a few questions."
"If you're innocent, naturally no one will trouble you."
"But if you really did something, confess properly, and we won't make things difficult for you either."
The surrounding gang members slowly closed in, sabers and staves lowered yet carrying a sharp edge.
Gu Chang'an's fingers twitched, quietly resting upon the hilt of the saber at his waist as he rapidly weighed the situation in his mind.
A dozen men flanking him front and back, all veterans of the Fire Gang, and it was unknown if there were more in ambush.
However, none of these people were ranked martial artists.
Among them, Liang Biao and the brawny man beside him were relatively strong; the former had a physique as high as 80, and the latter possessed an even higher physique of 90, already reaching the peak of ordinary mortals.
Even so, Gu Chang'an was not afraid.
As long as they weren't ranked martial artists, he feared none of them right now.
Still, he did not want to fight.
The Fire Gang's influence was simply too vast.
They numbered in the thousands, and the gang leader was even an eighth rank martial artist.
Therefore, while he wasn't afraid of the people before him, he didn't want to beat the juniors only to bring out the elders.
That would be far too troublesome.
However, not wanting to fight didn't mean he was afraid.
He was now a Ninth Rank Martial Artist, and a constable at that.
If this Fire Gang wanted to move against him, they would have to weigh whether it was worth the trouble.
Before you continue